"Yes, I acted with a sense of urgency and changed some past practices to get things done," he said. "These changes in processes were permissible under law, policies, and the permission given to me by the board in my service agreement and contract."

Granted, Miles was trying to cobble together his team in an insanely short period of time and deserves leeway for not following district hiring procedures to a T. More concerning is the finding that he overrode basic financial controls when reimbursing top hires, then showed complete disdain for the people and process that caught him doing so.

What Miles needs is some good PR advice. As superintendent of a major urban school district, he's a public figure now, essentially half-politician. He needs to act more like one, and any politician worth his salt knows how to deal with a minor scandal: Act contrite. Promise to do better in the future. And then let people forget about it.